Secret Codes Will Save You Money At Costco

Everyone loves Costco and we all know they have terrific deals, great prices, quality merchandise, wonderful return policy and the best Hot Dogs with a soda for only $1.50.

Did you know that Costco like many other stores runs some of their merchandise at close-out prices, but they don't tell you they are. Do you know how to tell simply by looking at the price sign on a product that it is a mark-down, special priced item, rebate item or discontinued item, with no more coming into that store?

I was an eBay Power Seller for many years and made a living buying close-outs and special items at Costco. I purchased their sale or close outs and resold them at higher prices on eBay and did over $60,000 in gross sales in one year.

You don't have to buy to resell their goods, but you can save yourself thousands of dollars if you only knew their pricing codes.

Well, this article will tell you how they mark these special sale items and how you can take advantage of the bargains once you understand their system.

Now this is a professional secret and not one that is published too often anywhere, so if you like this article and find it helps you save money at Costco, you know what I want from you...no not money, no not your first born child, yes, your recommendation, positive comment and some stars baby. I have never told anyone these secrets before, only those that have made a living selling Costco merchandise on eBay know some of these secrets.

1. Go to Costco and on your visit I want you to pay special attention to their signs for each item you see.

You will see many end with a 99¢ ending, some with a 79¢ ending, others 97¢ ending and so on. So how do you know which prices are the best deals or determine which are the close-outs that have vast reductions in their original prices? Easy, read each step as I explain what each one means.

2. You are going to look for items that now have a 97¢ ending. Regular priced items usually end with a 99¢ ending but not always. However, the ones with the 97¢ endings are those items that did not sell and must be cleared out. They are marked-down, but unlike all other retailers, Costco doesn't like you to know this, so the don't put the original prices with a slash and then the new price as many stores do. So to take advantage of these special deals, you have to know the code to know it is a close-out.

On a side note, just because it is a close-out or marked down, in some cases it might only be a very small mark down, so it is good to know what the original price was. You can ask their manager to tell you the original prices on these items if you copy and give them the item numbers before you make your purchase. I have seen some items only marked down $1, at times if there is a large stock, I may simply wait, until they mark it down even more.

3. Look to see if there is a * on the upper right side of the sign. If you see one, it means this item is not being reordered and what ever stock they have in the store will be sold and not replaced. This is a tip off that it might be a marked down item, but not always, but it does let you know that once these are gone there will be no more. I use this guide to determine if I should stock up on a discounted item, knowing that the store inventory is all they have.

4. Now you will watch for odd pricing like those that end in a 79¢ ending. You will also see they have others at 49¢, 89¢ endings and others. These usually mean that these items have a special price on them because Costco got a special deal from the manufacturer. In other words they were a special purchase and the buyers really killed their vendors for this price.

These will be a good deal compared to other stores, but usually not the deal you will get with the Marked Down 97¢ merchandise.

5, As you go through the store, you will begin to notice another special deal, the Instant Rebates on some items. Generally these will come from the manufacturers and Costco will give you the rebate on the items at the cash register. I like these a lot and you can watch for them at certain times of the year. I buy my Sonicare Tooth Brush system and refills during these rebates, because I can save $20 or more on a $100 item. Same holds true for their recordable DVD's and CD's and lots of other stuff, including food items as well.

6. Other rebates are also available, especially the one run through an Energy Rebate through your state...

In New Jersey, we have a nice rebate program on the purchase of fluorescent bulbs. The state will give you a substantial rebate at the cash register to entice you to switch over from your old energy consuming bulbs to these new high output bulbs. Now is the time to stock up while your state has the funds available. This happens usually once or twice a year.

* I just scored a Lights of America flourescent ceiling fixture with three bulbs included that normally sells at Costco for $19.95. The nice State of New Jersey however was offering a $15 at the register instant rebate, so this nice fixture with bulbs only cost me $4.95. The bulbs alone were worth the money. (*added 4/3/2011)

7. Watch for holiday or change of season close-outs...

At the end of a Holiday Season like Christmas, you need to get into the store the day after the holiday and scoop up all the marked down items. I have purchased their snow globes that normally retail for around $20-$25 for as little as $4.97 each and cleaned them out only to hold them in my attic for a 9 months and then sell them at $19.95 on eBay the following September. That is a 300% profit.

Watch for these special Holiday deals, but not everyone knows about Holiday clearance at all stores, but no one does it better then Costco. Today inventories are much lower in the past so you won't see as much, so you have to be fast. Christmas cards and wrapping paper are always left over, so you can buy these for almost nothing.

Tip: If you know the holiday, or any items can be gone by the time you get back to the store to purchase them, buy them a few days before at full price. When they get marked down, go to the customer service area and get a refund on the difference. Costco has a 30 day price protection policy and will do this for you. The only caveat on this move is you have to be pretty sure they have enough inventory and WILL BE MARKING THIS DOWN. If not, you can always return it with your receipt for a full refund.

8. Items that are not selling as well as they should are a prime target for a mark-down. Costco will go back to the vendor (manufacturer) and request an allowance from them to enable them to reduce the price of those items. These will be the items to look for and usually the ones with the .97¢ endings. I usually take note of an item that doesn't seem to be moving and wait patiently for the price reduction. If it is on the shelves for months and each time you visit you still see the same inventory there and it is not a staple item (food, etc.) you can be sure it will be reduced, so be patient if there is something you want to purchase, but think it is still a bit higher then you would like to pay. I have scored on tools and other items this way.

Finally as you check out with all your goodies, I want you to go over to their food court and get their best deal ever...You can get a huge all beef hot dog and a large soda with free refills for only $1.50. Now if that isn't a deal nothing is.

Tips and Tricks

* Take your camera with you as I do and record the prices on items so you can go home and check them on the internet to see just how good the deals are.

* If you need them for gifts or for resale and they have that asterik on the upper right side, then buy what you need and don't wait if you see their inventory is low, they won't be getting any more.

* Take advantage of their coupon specials and instant rebates as well, if you decide later you don't need them or have a change of heart, just bring them back, but keep your receipt in case the prices goes lower.

* If the prices do go lower on the close-outs, or items you purchased at full price, you can always bring the items back and repurchase them at the lower price. Remember, they do have a price adjustment policy on a item for 30 days.

If you see the item you bought at full price go on sale and it is beyond the 30 days the only other method it to purchase another one at the lower price. Then take your original receipt for the same item you purchased at the higher price and return the one you just bought at the sale price with that first receipt. I know Costco won't like me telling you this, but it is the only way I know to get around that 30 day adjustment policy.

* The single most important tip in this article is to hold onto every receipt from your Costco purchases. I keep mine in a little folder in date order. I also keep those for electronic items, larger purchases, etc. in a separate stack. Here is the reason. Costco has a satisfaction guarantee on all the products they sell. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the item in that time you can return it within 2 years, yup, 2 years.

Now If you kept your receipts, it makes this process easier and you will be credited for the original amount you paid. If not and they can't locate your purchase in their computer (which could take a long time and people behind you on line will be pissed), they may only offer you the lowest price the item sold for. As you already know it could be the marked-down price. So this is why keeping your receipts will be the most important tip of this article.

* Costco has the best return policy of any retailer around. Try not to abuse it and try not to take unfair advantage of their liberal satisfaction guarantee. I have seen people bring back a bunch of dead cut flowers after they have had them in their homes for a week and get their money back. In this economy we don't want Costco to either go out of business or change their wonderful customer service policies.

Added 6/7/2011 - What Does Costco Do With All The Returns?

If you are as curious as I am you want to know what happens to all the items that are returned to Costco. After talking to my local store manager I found out.

• Food of any sort, gets trashed. This is of course not only because it was returned but for security as well. Who knows what some people would do to a food item and then return it. This includes frozen food, fresh fruits and veggies, meat and many other items. If it is a sealed box I think it goes back on the shelves.

• Opened boxes are checked out and at the counter they will ask if anything is wrong with the item or is it defective. If it is defective, they tag it not suitable for sale and it will either go back to the manufacturer or it will be disposed of by Costco. Costco has a number of companies that purchase this merchandise. Some will refurbish it and resell it and others will sell it as is. I asked how they prevented those damaged items from being returned to Costco again and he told me they have a very strict vetting process to make sure that those companies they sell to are legitimate and that these items won't come back to the stores. They also have a computer record of every item you purchase in their system and if you come in without a receipt they will look it up to see if you purchased it, the date of the purchase and the price.

• Who takes the loss on a returned item? Well usually the vendor will. The percentage of returns on most items is small and it is taken into account when they price the items. Some vendors ask Costco to simply let them know how many of each item was returned and discarded and will simply give Costco the proper allowance. Others will ask for the items to be returned to their facilities, but this is usually on smaller higher prices items or electronics. Then there are items that Costco will simply take the loss. So when you return a set of 8 drinking glasses because one was broken, you can bet the other 7 will show up at a flea market, on the internet or in a store that purchases these from Costco at a very low cost.

• Costco knows the numbers and that includes the mark-up they need to take on all items and also knows the returns on each item to the penny, so all of these numbers have been calculated to give them their selling prices. If there are items that keep getting returned you can bet they will pull them from the stores and return them to their vendors.

By the way, this manager read my article and found it by doing a simple Google search and loved it. They really want their customers to save money when they shop there, but they don't want to follow the marketing concepts of other retailers that overprice their items 200% or more and then run sales every week with discounts as much as 50% or more. These are not sales, they are simply a way to fool the customer into thinking they are. Kohl's is one of the worst offenders of this practice and unfortunately many other stores are as well.

Be a smart shopper, know the true value or costs of an item before you purchase it and even if you see a sign that says 70% off, make sure the final prices is really a deal, from my experience at some stores even at 80% Off, they are still higher priced then at a legitimate retailer. When you shop at Costco, you can be certain you are getting the item at a fair price (not always the lowest price), but any item is backed by a Costco Satisfaction Guarantee and to me, that is worth the small extra cost on those select items.

Added July 13, 2011 - August 23rd Summer Markdown Scores

I had purchased a new set of patio furniture last month hoping the price would go down after July 4th. The chairs I purchased were originally close to $50 each, but last month they were reduced to $39.97 when we bought 5 of the basic chairs.

Yesterday I noticed they still had some of those chairs and they were reduced further to $19.97, but there were only about 17 remaining. I went home, grabbed my receipt which I was saving on my cork board and went back to the store and got a price adjustment for $20 per chair or $100 plus tax, which was a great price for a $50 sling back chair that comes with the Costco quality and guarantee.

Now I decided at $19.97 per chair I would get a few more since they stack and have those as spares for company or in the event one or two got damaged over time. I noticed on my return to the chair area that another customer was grabbing what seemed like most of them on a truck and panicked. He ended up only taking 6, I took another 3 and a third customer came over and took the remaining 6 chairs.

They are all gone now, but if I waited another day, I would have missed the additional 3 chairs and had only two days remaining on their 30 day price adjustment policy, so all's well that ends well.

I also noticed that some of the large flower pots I bought for $19.99 are now marked down to $14.97 so I have the receipt in hand and when I return to Costco, will get $10 back on another price adjustment. Waited another few weeks and now they are at $9.97, returned the others I bought at $14.97 and again got another $5 back...now they only cost me $10 each Yipee!!

In August was able to grab 8 containers of Bayer Rose & Flower All-In-One Food, Bug and Disease control, normally $15 each...ready...$4.97. Won't have to buy this for years and they don't spoil. Love the change of seasons for all of the best deals...

I would tell all my readers to do what I do and save all of your receipts from Costco including food items. This makes returns and adjustments easy to do and will save you lots of money if you shop at Costco often enough to follow the pricing patterns of items you buy. It enables you to even return food that might not live up to your expectations.

I love Costco and in these difficult times a regular shopper can score big on these mark-downs and also know they are protected by their price adjustment policy.

New Costco Marlboro, New Jersey

They just opened another new Costco in Marlboro, New Jersey and we went to see it on the opening day. What a great party they throw, so much food, large samples and I am told had over 50 people giving customers large tastes of their food offerings. This store is also about 40% larger then my store and I found a number of items that I needed and bought them there. Now I may have to visit both stores when I am in the spending mode.

One last note, at the new store we noticed Poland Spring Sport Cap water was a dollar less then it is in our Hazlet store. It was $4.59 a case vs. $5.49, we thought it might have been a mistake and later found out it was not. Different Costco stores may sell the same items at different prices. The reason we were told was that the new Costco had a Sam's Club and BJ store in the area and they have to meet the competition. So they lowered their prices to compete. In Hazlet, there is no competition, so they can charge a little more. Good to know when shopping at Costco.

Update...January 2012

While visiting family in North Palm Beach, Florida I went to their local Palm Beach Gardens Costco. I purchased a cute little "Snuggle Me Sherpa " baby blanket with pillow set in various animal motif's that looked like a stuffed animal when closed up, very cute indeed. I paid $6.97 and bought two for my grandchildren. I wasn't sure of the original cost, but knew it was a great deal. I decided that my little doggie loved it so much that I went back the next day to buy more and found the prices were back to the original full retail of $11.99. Hmmm, wondered if it was a mistake.

Was visiting some other relatives in Florida and saw they had a Costco near them, so I went in to see if they had my little pillow sets at the $6.97 price. To my surprise this was the only store that I have ever seen post the original selling price of a marked down item. As you can see in small letters on the bottom left of my most recent photos they now show that price with a yellow marker through it and the new sale price, ending in 97¢. You can also see that this store took the mark-down item to sell for $9.97 from $11.99. Although each manager decides the mark-down price and this was now 50% higher then what I had paid a couple of days before, I bought another one and ended up paying the extra $3.

Moral of this story, when you see a great deal, no matter what the original price, grab it and don't wait. They could be gone, transferred to another store or taken off sale. I did make up for the extra cost because they had another cute little sherpa type snuggie like blanket, with animal head hood and little open sleeves with animal hands for the kids when they are cold or out of the bath. These were marked down to $5.97 so I grabbed two of these too. I know they had to be worth at least $10.99 before the mark down, so all's well that ends well.